Amelia had hiccups in utero all throughout the pregnancy. It's funny
to see her have them now that she's out!
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7 months ago
June 27, 2009
June 20, 2009
A Picture is Worth A Thousand Words…
Okay, so it's been FOREVER since I have posted on the blog. It's kind of amazing how preoccupied I've been since Jen's pregnancy was declared high-risk. But now that we're past that, and Amelia is here, it's time to move forward and get back into the swing of things.
I could sit here and recount the events of Amelia's arrival, but Jen has already done a great job of that at her blog (follow the link HERE). Instead I wanted to share with you some pictures. We knew we wanted some good professional photos shortly after we came home. Our friends Jeff and Michelle Godby recommended a friend of theirs, Nick Gilbert, for the shoot. After working with him, I would recommend him as well. He came to our home on Wednesday night and took shots around the house, which was really cool! And I'm pretty sure Amelia is the youngest baby he's photographed! We don't have all the photos yet, but we thought we'd post some sample pics Nick provided. Expect to see more images in the following weeks.
-chadley
I could sit here and recount the events of Amelia's arrival, but Jen has already done a great job of that at her blog (follow the link HERE). Instead I wanted to share with you some pictures. We knew we wanted some good professional photos shortly after we came home. Our friends Jeff and Michelle Godby recommended a friend of theirs, Nick Gilbert, for the shoot. After working with him, I would recommend him as well. He came to our home on Wednesday night and took shots around the house, which was really cool! And I'm pretty sure Amelia is the youngest baby he's photographed! We don't have all the photos yet, but we thought we'd post some sample pics Nick provided. Expect to see more images in the following weeks.
-chadley
June 13, 2009
She's here!
Our daughter, Amelia Lucille Hunter arrived on June 11th. She is 19.7 inches, weighs 6lbs, 11oz and cute as can be! We'll be posting all the details and photos later! I need to go stand by her crib and stare at her for a little while longer.
-chadley
-chadley
April 27, 2009
Jen gets parole from her house arrest!
Okay, so it's been so long since I wrote an entry, I had to read the last one to remember where I left off.
So where am I? You guessed it...Starbucks. But not the same old one. I'm at one closer to my house. That's because Jen is back at home and the situation has changed, for the better! Jen was able to go home a couple of weeks ago (quite surprisingly). As I mentioned in my last post, we had heard they might release her on Saturday if tests looked good. They rushed her into the test one Thursday morning and sent her home the same afternoon! That was the day before I took some vacation time to get the house ready before the baby came. So it was sudden, but perfect, timing.
Since then, we've also had a follow-up ultrasound at the high-risk clinic and the results showed that Jen's body was able to hold the baby better and all of the pressure was no longer on the cervix and it's accompanying stitch. It was quite the (pleasant) shock for us to see them measure the cervix at over 2cm on the ultrasound, which was about 1cm longer than it was the day they rushed us into the hospital in January. They also told Jen that at 32 weeks, her bedrest restrictions would be eased up, and she could get out and walk, go to the store, etc. on a limited basis.
This past Friday was the 32 weeks mark. We celebrated her parole and went out to Franklin for a nice lunch and to stroll around. We even went to the Hill Center in Green Hills that evening for a little more shopping. Since then, I think the both of us feel more confident and comfortable about the rest of the pregnancy (well, Jen feels about as comfortable as she can right now). The restrictions of bedrest, and my need to be around the house constantly, have alleviated. Jen will be able to get up and build her strength back up somewhat before the baby comes, which is good. Life feels somewhat more normal, and we're able to enjoy the last few weeks of it being just the two of us.
This relief has allowed me to start thinking and focusing on other things lately, namely looking at the future and start making other plans in my creative career. Having to set aside thoughts of career development the past 5 months has given me some perspective and fueled my curiosity of what else I'd like to tackle. I'm very happy as a freelance artist and with the work I'm doing, but I would like to enhance my creative arsenal by taking up photography, learning to do websites and maybe even do some more writing (outside of this blog). All things I'd like to learn about and try to do. So I'm going to start doing this summer.
But, of course, in the forefront is the arrival of our daughter. I couldn't be more excited and ready for time to pass and for her to get here. Pray with us that she'll get here happy and healthy all at the right time. And, that means that finally we'll be able to reveal her name to everyone! We have a midwife's appointment this morning, so we're interested in seeing what she'll say about things. Then we don't have another ultrasound until May 18th, which happens to be our wedding anniversary! We know if we get that far, they'll want to remove the cerclage and then it's anyone's guess when she'll be born.
Hopefully you'll hear from me between now and then.
-chadley
So where am I? You guessed it...Starbucks. But not the same old one. I'm at one closer to my house. That's because Jen is back at home and the situation has changed, for the better! Jen was able to go home a couple of weeks ago (quite surprisingly). As I mentioned in my last post, we had heard they might release her on Saturday if tests looked good. They rushed her into the test one Thursday morning and sent her home the same afternoon! That was the day before I took some vacation time to get the house ready before the baby came. So it was sudden, but perfect, timing.
Since then, we've also had a follow-up ultrasound at the high-risk clinic and the results showed that Jen's body was able to hold the baby better and all of the pressure was no longer on the cervix and it's accompanying stitch. It was quite the (pleasant) shock for us to see them measure the cervix at over 2cm on the ultrasound, which was about 1cm longer than it was the day they rushed us into the hospital in January. They also told Jen that at 32 weeks, her bedrest restrictions would be eased up, and she could get out and walk, go to the store, etc. on a limited basis.
This past Friday was the 32 weeks mark. We celebrated her parole and went out to Franklin for a nice lunch and to stroll around. We even went to the Hill Center in Green Hills that evening for a little more shopping. Since then, I think the both of us feel more confident and comfortable about the rest of the pregnancy (well, Jen feels about as comfortable as she can right now). The restrictions of bedrest, and my need to be around the house constantly, have alleviated. Jen will be able to get up and build her strength back up somewhat before the baby comes, which is good. Life feels somewhat more normal, and we're able to enjoy the last few weeks of it being just the two of us.
This relief has allowed me to start thinking and focusing on other things lately, namely looking at the future and start making other plans in my creative career. Having to set aside thoughts of career development the past 5 months has given me some perspective and fueled my curiosity of what else I'd like to tackle. I'm very happy as a freelance artist and with the work I'm doing, but I would like to enhance my creative arsenal by taking up photography, learning to do websites and maybe even do some more writing (outside of this blog). All things I'd like to learn about and try to do. So I'm going to start doing this summer.
But, of course, in the forefront is the arrival of our daughter. I couldn't be more excited and ready for time to pass and for her to get here. Pray with us that she'll get here happy and healthy all at the right time. And, that means that finally we'll be able to reveal her name to everyone! We have a midwife's appointment this morning, so we're interested in seeing what she'll say about things. Then we don't have another ultrasound until May 18th, which happens to be our wedding anniversary! We know if we get that far, they'll want to remove the cerclage and then it's anyone's guess when she'll be born.
Hopefully you'll hear from me between now and then.
-chadley
April 05, 2009
The further adventures on Jen's pregnancy...
Okay, so I hope you've been checking Jen's blog if you've wanted the latest on what's going on with the pregnancy. 'Cause I haven't been a-blogging lately, in case you haven't noticed.
And, it's very likely you haven't. :)
So what IS going on? Well... once again I'm blogging from the Starbucks near Vanderbilt. This time, for an entirely different reason. Jen's across the road, asleep. She's been on bedrest in the hospital for almost two weeks now. How long will Jen be there? Well, that depends. We're hearing different things from different doctors. But the consensus is that they will re-evaluate around 30-32 weeks. They've been reluctant to do thorough exams on a frequent basis, but presumably they will at that point and make a decision.
I honestly don't know how I feel about that. Although I hate that Jen has to be in that hospital bed 24/7, at least I know she's somewhere safe if she needs immediate attention. If she's at home, help is a little farther away. On the other hand, I know she would be more comfortable at home and after 32 weeks the likelihood of things happening quickly will have eased up a bit. So I guess we'll just see what the doctor's say and go from there. Fortunately, my work load is lightening up at LifeWay and a good portion of the freelance work I will be doing in the next 2 months I can do from home (they've been very understanding and accommodating and I couldn't be more grateful - thanks, y'all!). So if Jen is at home again, hopefully I can be around quite a bit. And if she doesn't go home, we'll just keep doing what we're doing. I guess we'll just see what the doctor orders...
Oh, one bit about the hospital stay - Jen does get a 30-minute break every day where I can take her out in a wheelchair. I think that gives her something to look forward to, which I'm glad to be able to do.
So what else is going on? Answer: not much! Keeping up with work, doing what I can around the house and keeping Jen company as much as possible fills every day. I know Jen and I are already looking forward to getting back into some healthy routines of walking and eating at home. Eating takeout every day takes a toll on the body, especially if you have a self-loathing thyroid gland. Now that warmer weather is here I'm trying to take walks when I can around the Vandy area and just do what I can.
I'm also chipping away at home projects and plan on taking a long weekend for Easter, finishing the nursery, cleaning out the garage and working on the back patio area. Spring has definitely sprung and I want to get the patio area in shape so we can enjoy it when we bring the little one home. I did put together a grill the weekend before Jen's incarceration and we grilled hot dogs once and we can't wait to do it again! I did some artwork for the nursery and I want to finish the last piece that has our little girl's name on it (and, no, I won't tell you what it is. And if you try to guess it around me I will rename you "Black Eye"). There's a few odds-and-ends we need to take care of, so I'm gonna be working on it. Hopefully I can update you on some of those things, but I suspect that Jen will want to have the big "reveal" of the nursery on her site, so keep an eye out for it.
Okay, I'm about blogged out, so that's it for now. I'll try to write sooner next time. Thanks again for all the prayers and support. It means a lot to us!
-chadley
And, it's very likely you haven't. :)
So what IS going on? Well... once again I'm blogging from the Starbucks near Vanderbilt. This time, for an entirely different reason. Jen's across the road, asleep. She's been on bedrest in the hospital for almost two weeks now. How long will Jen be there? Well, that depends. We're hearing different things from different doctors. But the consensus is that they will re-evaluate around 30-32 weeks. They've been reluctant to do thorough exams on a frequent basis, but presumably they will at that point and make a decision.
I honestly don't know how I feel about that. Although I hate that Jen has to be in that hospital bed 24/7, at least I know she's somewhere safe if she needs immediate attention. If she's at home, help is a little farther away. On the other hand, I know she would be more comfortable at home and after 32 weeks the likelihood of things happening quickly will have eased up a bit. So I guess we'll just see what the doctor's say and go from there. Fortunately, my work load is lightening up at LifeWay and a good portion of the freelance work I will be doing in the next 2 months I can do from home (they've been very understanding and accommodating and I couldn't be more grateful - thanks, y'all!). So if Jen is at home again, hopefully I can be around quite a bit. And if she doesn't go home, we'll just keep doing what we're doing. I guess we'll just see what the doctor orders...
Oh, one bit about the hospital stay - Jen does get a 30-minute break every day where I can take her out in a wheelchair. I think that gives her something to look forward to, which I'm glad to be able to do.
So what else is going on? Answer: not much! Keeping up with work, doing what I can around the house and keeping Jen company as much as possible fills every day. I know Jen and I are already looking forward to getting back into some healthy routines of walking and eating at home. Eating takeout every day takes a toll on the body, especially if you have a self-loathing thyroid gland. Now that warmer weather is here I'm trying to take walks when I can around the Vandy area and just do what I can.
I'm also chipping away at home projects and plan on taking a long weekend for Easter, finishing the nursery, cleaning out the garage and working on the back patio area. Spring has definitely sprung and I want to get the patio area in shape so we can enjoy it when we bring the little one home. I did put together a grill the weekend before Jen's incarceration and we grilled hot dogs once and we can't wait to do it again! I did some artwork for the nursery and I want to finish the last piece that has our little girl's name on it (and, no, I won't tell you what it is. And if you try to guess it around me I will rename you "Black Eye"). There's a few odds-and-ends we need to take care of, so I'm gonna be working on it. Hopefully I can update you on some of those things, but I suspect that Jen will want to have the big "reveal" of the nursery on her site, so keep an eye out for it.
Okay, I'm about blogged out, so that's it for now. I'll try to write sooner next time. Thanks again for all the prayers and support. It means a lot to us!
-chadley
February 07, 2009
What's up? (Saturday Ramblings)
Hola amigos! All I can say is I'm glad we survived a roller-coaster finale to January and I'm trying to start February with a clean slate.
(Note: I'm just jumping in here. I know a LOT has gone on in the past few weeks with the pregnancy, but Jen has already done a great job recapping all of that. So follow the link at the top of the page if you want the latest scoop on what's up in preggerville.)
I'm taking a few minutes on a Saturday morning while Jen is sleeping in to get out and stretch my legs, collect my thoughts and update the blog. I'm up at a Starbucks near Vanderbilt University, which is not really close to our house, but it's close to where I used to live when I was single. It's big and cushy (for all the ritzy Vandy students to hang out), so I make the trek here when I want to camp out for awhile. The only downside is that they are BLARING Sinatra (who I love, but not THIS loud), so I've got white noise playing on my iPod to try to tune it out. It's working. Kinda.
It's supposed to be amazingly beautiful here in Nashville today. High around 69 I think. I think I'm going to take Jen for a picnic lunch later. Yes, she's still on bedrest, but I've got some picnic blankets & pillows in the back of the car. I figure laying on the ground is just as good as laying on the couch. Maybe we can just go grab a few sandwiches somewhere and lay outside. I know she's going stir crazy in the house, so this will be a good chance for us to get out and get some fresh air. She did make a trip to Target this past week (you have to see the pictures on her blog - it was awesome), but nothing beats being out in the sunshine on a beautiful day.
Although we're loving the new house, we're sick of being inside all the time because of the cold weather, so I think it will do both of us some good. Her parents hooked us up with a 2-month subscription to NetFlix which we've already started wearing out. We used to have NetFlix and I can see us getting it again for good, especially with the Instant Play feature, where you can download tons of movies and don't have to wait for them to email the DVD's to you. It's pretty cool, actually. Plus I've found a way to "hack" the AppleTV I got for Christmas and can now access Hulu.com as well as a host of other video sites, so we're rockin' the high-tech TV right now. I'm pretty grateful considering we had a loaner TV this time last year.
Anyways, the house is coming together well. We've been saving money for the odds & ends we need for the house over the past year, and now we're able to start getting stuff. The good thing about the lousy economy is that everything we need for the house is on sale! So we're able to get curtains at West Elm for Target/Wal-mart prices, which is awesome. Speaking of sales, we got a great deal on our crib when one of Jen's friends saw that Babies'R'Us was selling their display model of Jen's favorite crib for $75 off! So I went and got it - that made Jen VERY happy.
On a side note, you know you're life is changing when you're excited about getting furniture at Babies'R'Us. Wow.
Speaking of the house, I've decided to try to create some artwork for the den myself. I found out that one of my clients, LifeWay, has an in-house printing press where they can print on canvas, so I think I'm going to create some digital artwork and print it out and have a friend of mine stretch it on canvas. I'm actually excited about that - I haven't done a project like that in a long time. I hope it goes well, and I'll show you the results when I get it done.
Anyways, I'll share more later. I know this has been more of a "brain-dump" than well-conceived blog entry, but that's about all I'm capable of right now. I think it's Etta James SCREAMING in the background here at Starbucks that's encouraging me to wrap things up. I'll update when I can, but honestly, I'm REALLY hoping to not have any urgent news to report anytime soon. I've had enough excitement lately.
Later, y'all!
-chadley
P.S. - Did I mention that I'm excited that we're having a gir? Well, I am :)
(Note: I'm just jumping in here. I know a LOT has gone on in the past few weeks with the pregnancy, but Jen has already done a great job recapping all of that. So follow the link at the top of the page if you want the latest scoop on what's up in preggerville.)
I'm taking a few minutes on a Saturday morning while Jen is sleeping in to get out and stretch my legs, collect my thoughts and update the blog. I'm up at a Starbucks near Vanderbilt University, which is not really close to our house, but it's close to where I used to live when I was single. It's big and cushy (for all the ritzy Vandy students to hang out), so I make the trek here when I want to camp out for awhile. The only downside is that they are BLARING Sinatra (who I love, but not THIS loud), so I've got white noise playing on my iPod to try to tune it out. It's working. Kinda.
It's supposed to be amazingly beautiful here in Nashville today. High around 69 I think. I think I'm going to take Jen for a picnic lunch later. Yes, she's still on bedrest, but I've got some picnic blankets & pillows in the back of the car. I figure laying on the ground is just as good as laying on the couch. Maybe we can just go grab a few sandwiches somewhere and lay outside. I know she's going stir crazy in the house, so this will be a good chance for us to get out and get some fresh air. She did make a trip to Target this past week (you have to see the pictures on her blog - it was awesome), but nothing beats being out in the sunshine on a beautiful day.
Although we're loving the new house, we're sick of being inside all the time because of the cold weather, so I think it will do both of us some good. Her parents hooked us up with a 2-month subscription to NetFlix which we've already started wearing out. We used to have NetFlix and I can see us getting it again for good, especially with the Instant Play feature, where you can download tons of movies and don't have to wait for them to email the DVD's to you. It's pretty cool, actually. Plus I've found a way to "hack" the AppleTV I got for Christmas and can now access Hulu.com as well as a host of other video sites, so we're rockin' the high-tech TV right now. I'm pretty grateful considering we had a loaner TV this time last year.
Anyways, the house is coming together well. We've been saving money for the odds & ends we need for the house over the past year, and now we're able to start getting stuff. The good thing about the lousy economy is that everything we need for the house is on sale! So we're able to get curtains at West Elm for Target/Wal-mart prices, which is awesome. Speaking of sales, we got a great deal on our crib when one of Jen's friends saw that Babies'R'Us was selling their display model of Jen's favorite crib for $75 off! So I went and got it - that made Jen VERY happy.
On a side note, you know you're life is changing when you're excited about getting furniture at Babies'R'Us. Wow.
Speaking of the house, I've decided to try to create some artwork for the den myself. I found out that one of my clients, LifeWay, has an in-house printing press where they can print on canvas, so I think I'm going to create some digital artwork and print it out and have a friend of mine stretch it on canvas. I'm actually excited about that - I haven't done a project like that in a long time. I hope it goes well, and I'll show you the results when I get it done.
Anyways, I'll share more later. I know this has been more of a "brain-dump" than well-conceived blog entry, but that's about all I'm capable of right now. I think it's Etta James SCREAMING in the background here at Starbucks that's encouraging me to wrap things up. I'll update when I can, but honestly, I'm REALLY hoping to not have any urgent news to report anytime soon. I've had enough excitement lately.
Later, y'all!
-chadley
P.S. - Did I mention that I'm excited that we're having a gir? Well, I am :)
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